I War IncidciiLs 

From the Lives of 

Three Brothers 

and Their 
NEPHEW 

Then and Now 



UNITED WE STAND— DIVIDED WE FALL 



B^eminisicences! 

In the Early Sixties 

From the Lives of 
THREE BROTHERS 

BY 

REV. E. G. HOUGK . 

With an Introduction by 
HIS NEPHEW 



PRIVATELY PRINTED, DENVER. COLO., 1920 






6 



TO HONOR 

THE MEMORY OF 

OUR MOTHERS 



E. C. HOUCK 
J. B. LOVELL 



"HONOR and shame from no condition rise; 
Act well your part, there all the honor lies. " 



Introduction 



Having no recollection of ever seeing my father, when I 
became old enough to be of some service on the farm, to run 
errands, help my mother and sisters, or pick apples for cider 
making, of which many barrels were made every year, my 
uncle, Joseph L. Houck, was manager of the "Oakdale Farm," 
in Trough Creek Valley, where we were all born. I have a dis- 
tinct recollection of what happened when I refused to pick 
apples. Tender twigs were not quite so thick on the trees as 
apples were under them; nevertheless, when Uncle was on 
parade, in his bright uniform as an officer in the local militia, 
he was every inch a hero to me. The spirit of adventure dom- 
inated the early manhood of my mother's brothers. Thus the 
lure of the discovery of gold in the Fraser River country 
caused Uncle to abandon farm life and, like many others, join 
an overland party to reach that far-away Eldorado. They 
would all have perished in crossing the Canadian Rockies had 
not a friendly band of Indians supplied them with food. 

Uncle B. F. Houck was really the only father I ever knew. 
He took me with him to Maryland. During 1863 I was the 
"little laddie" in his home. The sight of General Lee's army 
marching through Maryland to Pennsylvania and an all-day's 
engagement in their retreat, between South Mountain and the 
Potomac River, after the Battle of Gettysburg, with our house 
between the skirmish lines, so thrilled my boyish mind that 
the picture is more vivid in my recollection today than had it 
happened last year. I heard the canon boom and the shells' 
shrill whistle through the air, the sharp crack of the infantry 
rifle, even the Confederate off'icer's command, ''Skirmishers 
to the right!" in a field adjoining our house. During the bat- 
tle that hot July day, my uncle sat on the upper porch reading 
"Josephus," unafraid and seemingly wholly undisturbed. 
About sundown the Confederates fell back, and as we were 
crossing a field to a neighbors, a rifle bullet struck in the fence 
near my uncle. He simply drew his handkerchief from his 
pocket and waived it over his head and went on, while I 
gripped his hand in fear, thinking every whistling shell from 
the Federal battery was sure to hit me. One struck not far 
away, scooping out a lot of mother earth. That memorable 
summer was a wonderful experience for me. I saw the major 
part of both armies, and when Uncle took me back to my 
mother's home in Pennsylvania, I had several guns and a cav- 



airy sabre that I had found on the battlefield. He asked my 
mother's consent to take me with him into the service, but 
both of my brothers were then in the army, so she refused 
absolutely to give up her baby boy, the only one left to com- 
fort her. 

The wanderlust in my Uncle E. C. Houck carried him into 
the then wild and woolly west, too early in my life for me to 
have known him in my childhood, as I did his two older broth- 
ers, but now I can say of him, as I do in loving memory of 
them, these three brothers, uncles of mine, were noble-minded, 
generous-hearted men, conscientious in all of their actions, and 
thus worthy brothers of the one woman I have most loved in 
all the world, my mother, whose wise counsel, thought and 
tender love for her children was as a "deep hidden fountain, 
sealed and kept secret, that flowed when every other spring 
was dry." 

The following account, — a condensed statement of facts 
of the recovery of Captain Houck's body, and the brief sketch 
of the youngest brother's experience in the Civil War, serving 
under the Confederate Flag, were written at my request, and, 
after Uncle had passed the fourscore period in his life. To 
honor the memory of my mother; and for the information of 
the descendants of these brothers and their relatives I am 
having these sketches privately printed, adding thereto, with 
the approval of my uncle, a personal sketch taken from the 
"History of Colorado." 

JESSE BARTON LOVELL. 

Denver, Colorado, December, 1919. 



Foreword 



This brief, imperfect gathering up of war incidents 
more than half a century after their occurrence has been 
undertaken at the earnest request of my highly esteemed 
nephew, J. Barton Lovell. Just why he wants it, or what dis- 
position he will make of it, has not been very clearly revealed 
to me. 

Should these random incidents ever appear in print and 
be read by some at least who may be capable of making cor- 
rect criticism, the writer asks pardon for the many errors that 
evidently are manifest. If General Sherman's definition of 
war is correct, all will agree that there cannot be great pleas- 
ure in writing or talking upon war incidents. 

E. C. HOUCK. 



During part of the John Brown excitement in Kansas, the 
years 1857 and 1858, I was a resident of Faribault, Minnesota, 
a new town sixty miles south of St, Paul. Fairbault was the 
county seat of Rice county. 

Part of the time I was contractor and builder, other part 
engaged in the hardware business. Most of the American set- 
tlers were New England people, some very radical abolitionists. 

I, being one of the early settlers, naturally had some part 
in local politics. Owing to the Kansas Brown condition there 
were some harsh and unreasonable utterances. Occasionally 
a claim owner or ranchman would be in town and of course 
have his say. A Mr. Putman became very much offended 
at me and threatened to shoot me. Not being seriously alarmed 
at his threat I did not avoid him. Whether he was only 
bluffing, or changed his mind, and also his plans, I never 
knew, but was of course glad to escape unhurt. 

Owing to the great financial crash in the latter part of 
1857, I, with many others in the Northwest, became bankrupt, 
and worked again at carpentering, and steamboated on the 
Mississippi River some. In the fall of 1860, in company with 
my former partner in the hardware business, bought and 
fitted up a large fiat boat at Cairo, Illinois; loaded it with 
western produce and ran it as far as Vicksburg, Mississippi. 
Sold some of the produce at various points between Memphis, 
Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, but had perhaps one- 



third of our load when we landed at Vicksburg. My partner, 
Mr. C. T. Hinde, and the crew, consisting of four men besides 
ourselves, returned north. I remained in Vicksburg and con- 
tinued in the produce trade, my partner shipping me other lots 
of produce by steamboat. 

Naturally, after my experience in Minnesota and being 
descended from Virginia and Maryland people, it was easy to 
pass from a neutral to a Southern sympathizer, and to aid me 
in this transition, the Federal Government confiscated 1,0^0 
barrels of flour in transit. 

Being unable to get further supplies from the northwest, 
I closed out at Vicksburg. I was much perplexed in mind and 
heart and finally went to New Orleans undetermined what to 
do. By this time war preparations were active. I had writtan 
to my dear mother some time prior to my going to New Orleans 
that I proposed going there and that I was greatly troubled, 
not really desiring to go into either the North or South army 
and thought something of going to South America, and asked 
Mother to write me at New Orleans and tell me what she 
thought about it. While in New Orleans I received Mother's 
letter, the substance of which was : "You are an American, 
so do not leave your country; and if you must take up arms, 
choose that which seems to you to be the least of two evils." 

I returned to Vicksburg, went to Yazoo City and enlisted 
in Company K of the Wirt Adams Regiment of Cavalry. Our 
company marched from Yazoo City to Vicksburg, a distance of 
some thirty miles ; there took steamer to Memphis, Tennessee, 
where we were encamped at the fair grounds for several weeks. 
Here we did some picket duty. Our next move was by slow 
marches to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where we wintered. 
Here the regiment organization was completed by the addition 
of companies from Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. 
Colonel Wirt Adams was a Mississippian but was also a large 
plantation owner and cotton grower in Louisiana. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Robert Wood direct from the regular U. S. Army, as 
was also Major Hagy of Alabama. 

Our camp was near Bowling Green. We had comfortable 
new tents and fairly good rations, splendid forage for our 
horses. Our work there was almost exclusively drilling, chiefly 
by Colonel Wood and Major Hagy, both experts in every phase 
of Cavalry service. Here we did much scouting and picket 
duty, both of which was largely along the line of drill service. 
Only once, while in Kentucky, we had a little scrap with North- 
ern soldiers near ''Mammoth Cave." I volunteered for any 
and every service that would enable me to get away from cam.p 

6 



and even the appearance of doing something. Then, too, when 
out of camp on duty we got our "eats" from the farm houses 
of Kentucky, which was a great improvement on our camp 
fare. Hot biscuits and fried chicken pleased at least two of 
the human senses. 

My first effort at cooking in camp was first a failure and 
second a success. I burned the entire ration of rice for a mess 
of twelve men and the other articles of food were almost 
ruined. That of course constituted the failure. Thereafter I 
was excused from cooking, which was to me a great relief and 
so a success. 

A great surprise. One day when in Bowling Green, whom 
should I meet up with but Adam Clarkson, of Cassville, Hunt- 
ington county, Pennsylvania. In our brief interview I learned 
he was on General Hardie's staff" and was also camped not far 
from Bowling Green. 

Some time in March we received orders to break camp 
and move. All we private soldiers knew as to where we were 
going or the object of our going, would not fill many pages of 
even a small book. It proved to be a long and tiresome march 
and there was little of interest to note on the long march from 
Bowling' Green, Kentucky, to Corinth, Mississippi. 

"Shiloh Battle." 

On Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, we found ourselves in 
the then famous battle of "Shiloh," which began about 6:00 
a. m. Sunday and continued nearly three days. About 3 :00 
p. m. Sunday our commanding General, Albert Sidney Johnson, 
was killed. General Beauregard was next in command. Up 
to the time General Johnson fell military experts said the 
three-mile battle line was kept in hand almost as complete as 
an army on dress parade. 

A Personal Incident. 

About 2:00 p. m. Sunday, our squadron was ordered to 
take shelter in a slight ravine or hollow, awaiting orders. For 
a short time we remained mounted. Whilst sitting in my sad- 
dle I noticed a large dogwood blossom immediately in front of 
my breast. About that time we had orders to dismount. We 
sat down upon the ground, holding our bridle reins in our 
h?mds. listening to the whistle of bullets. I looked up to see 
the blossom drop at my feet. I picked it up and found the 
stem had been cut by a bullet. What the world calls an acci- 
dental escape, but now, over half a century after the incident, 
I thank Him, with whom there are no accidents, that the order 



to dismount came before that bullet came and severed the ten- 
der blossom stem instead of lodging in or passing through my 
body. 

It was reported that about the time General Johnston was 
killed, General U. S. Grant took personal command of the Union 
forces. So with the Confederate "loss" and the Union "gain" 
it was not strange that conditions materially changed. 

A Pathetic Incident. 

Sunday night, while on picket duty I found on my beat a 
Union soldier almost dead. It was very dark. I lighted a 
match and discovered a boy, surely yet in his 'teens ; his lips 
were moving. I stopped and listened. He was feebly uttering, 
"Mother! Mother!" How I wished then and often have since, 
I could have secured his mother's address and written her of 
her dear boy's last words. When relieved about midnight, I 
crept into a tent to get an hour's rest and found others had 
preceded me. To one I was crowding, I said: "Who am I in- 
truding upon?" He answered: "General Breckenridge." I 
apologized and was about to look for other quarters when the 
General very kindly told me to remain and try and find room 
to lie down. 

Monday night my bed was the ground without blanket 
under or over me, my head pillowed on a small log of wood. 
When I awoke in the morning my body was in a pool of water 
four inches deep. It had rained nearly all night, but not hard 
enough to arouse me from slumber. 

All day Tuesday the battle went against us and Tuesday 
night we fell back to Corinth. At one time during the night 
retreat, I came in contact with Captain Adam Clarkson of Cass- 
ville again. It was too dark to see or recognize anyone, but 
his voice was the same as of yore. We had a few words about 
the loss of the battle and especially of our great general, A. S. 
Johnson. 

I find it impossible, after more than half a century has 
come and gone, to recall dates or places for the rest of the 
war. Our regiment was almost constantly on the move over 
territory extending from east Louisiana to Tennessee and Ala- 
bama, most of the time in Mississippi. 

Our regiment was seldom in camp except when men and 
horses were much in need of rest. For a few months I was as- 
sistant quartermaster, not from choice, but in obedience to 
o'ders and because our nuartermaster thought my business 
experience fitted me for the work. 



Soon after this our Company K was so largely recruited 
that it was decided to organize Company A and to my surprise 
I was unanimously elected second lieutenant of the new com- 
pany. The first lieutenant of Company A was a Pennsylvanian 
but had lived in Mississippi a number of years. There were 
eight Pennsylvanians in the two companies. Owing to my 
good health and consequent activity I used up nine horses dur- 
ing the four years of service. 

After becoming a commissioned officer I had a Hegro man 
servant loaned to me by his owner. He was a young fellow 
and very unreliable, dishonest and lazy. On one occasion T 
had to punish him, but before doing so gave him a friendly 
talk, for which he afterwards thanked me, but did not express 
any gratitude for the whipping. Later, I had a man about 
forty years old, whose owner begged me to take because he 
seemed to be almost unmanageable. The man was lectured at 
the very start and told that the very first act of insubordina- 
tion would be severely dealt with, but as long as he was obe- 
dient he should have fair treatment. He proved to be an ex- 
cellent servant and remained with me until the war closed, 
and I took him at his own request with me from Alabama to 
his old master's home in Mississippi. 

While on duty at Port Gibson, Mississippi, with about 
twenty men, we were surprised, our pickets being driven in by 
a squadron of Union cavalry. After a brief skirmish with the 
advance guard, retreat seemed to be in order. I succeeded, 
however, in getting away without the loss of a man, horse or 
any of our effects. The greatly alarmed citizens of the town 
pronounced it a fairly well managed retreat. 

I think it was soon after this event that a very peculiar 
and sad experience was mine. One morning, I awoke in great 
distress of mind. My messmates seemed alarmed and noticing 
my unusual reticence and dejection begged me to have the doc- 
tor. I did not know what was the matter but knew a doctor 
could not even diagnose the case. That evening there was a 
social gathering near the camp to which a number of us were 
invited. When the time came to go to the party my friends 
insisted on my going ; that the pleasant affair would dispel the 
gloom. Some time later I started to the party, but when at 
the home of Dr. Wade I dismounted from my horse and went 
in the house. The doctor, his wife and sister were in the room 
and they actually seemed alarmed. After telling them of my 
strange and painful experience and that it seemed to me abso- 
lutely wrong for me to attempt to participate in the pleasures 
of the party, they all urged me to go and that possibly it would 
be the means of escape from my trouble. 

9 



On my arrival at the social gathering, friends began 
inquire what was the matter and really my presence seemt 
to cast a gloom over the entire company. In a few momen 
conditions grew worse instead of better. Excusing myself 
the family, who had kindly given me the invitation to tl 
party, I withdrew and actually ran my horse at full speed ba( 
to camp. It was several days before normal conditions r 
turned. 

I made a note of the date and one evening about thri 
months later, when we were going into camp somewhere 
Alabama, one of the men handed me a letter, the enveloj 
nearly worn off and much soiled. It was getting dark, but \ 
the light of the fire I began to read. The letter was from rr 
brother Joseph and advised me that our brother Benjamin hi 
been killed in battle on the morning of a certain date. I stoppc 
reading at that point, referred to my memorandum and foui 
it was the very morning of the day of my sad experience 
the Mississippi camp. Science, so-called, says this kind of e 
perience is psychological. Be that as it may, it is surely u 
forgettable. 

At the second battle of Corinth, General Maury in cor 
mand, I had charge of his couriers, carrying orders from Ge 
eral Maury to the other generals, colonels, etc., in the fro 
line of battle. About 3:00 p. m. we had driven the Union forc' 
from their front lines some two miles from the town of Co;ini 
and thought we were about to secure a comrilete victory, wh( 
from their temporary trenches they opened upon us a terril 
fire from field artillery and infantry. At that time 1 was with 
two hundred yards of their infantry. There were S3ver 
buildings near me, upon the walls and roofs of which grapesh^ 
and bullets rattled like hail. All around me missies of deal 
were whistling. My horse refused to move, although urged t 
word and spur and for a moment it seemed to me the hor: 
was dead but had not yet fallen, but to my surprise and gre; 
relief he started in bounds and leaps ; not running but actual 
jumping. Our lines were completely broken and some of tl 
men badly demoralized. That night about ten o'clock Gener 
Maury sent an order for me to report to him. He put me ; 
possession of important papers to be delivered at a point ( 
the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, where army supplies we: 
stored, and where his wife and two children were at that tim 
My orders were to ride alone and slowly, stopping occasional 
to listen. About 6:00 a. m. my horse began to show signs 
failure. I dismounted and led the horse slowly until a hou 
and little barn were discovered. In the barn lot was a loo 

10 



Tse. No person was then in sight. I proceeded to the lot, 
iught the horse and was changing saddle, etc., when the 
wner of the horse came out and asked me what I proposed 
3ing and why. He filed his objections and started to the house. 
f course his object was to secure his gun. I ordered him to 
jme back and presented my authority, which was a good- 
ized and well-loaded Colt's revolver, — and he came back. He 
stened respectfully to my explanation and assurance that in a 
3W days I would return his horse and get my own, which 
did. 

In accordance with my instructions from General Maury, 
superintended the shipment of the army supplies to a point 
arther south ; also assisted Mrs. Maury and her children in 
leir removal, after which I returned to my command. 

One of the most trying experiences that fell to my lot 
uring four years of service was feeling for an ambuscade, 
eeling, because it was abojt three o'clock in the morning and 
ery dark. We had bsen moving slowly and cautiously for 
Dme time and under s!:nct orders not to speak aloud. When 
e halted a whispered order came to me to dismount and "feel" 
ly way through a dense thicket on the right side of the road, 
f course the order was promptly obeyed, but with more reluc- 
;nce and fear than is easily described. If the enemy had been 
lere my chance of escape would have been almost hopeless, 
/ith the exception of some slight thorn scratches there was 
) damage sustained. 

When General Grant was fighting his way to the rear of 
icksburg, what was called the Black River Battle began in 
le morning and the cavalry, as usual, had part in the begin- 
ing and about 9:00 a. m. a shell from the enemy's field artil- 
;ry struck the ground seemingly almost under my horse. The 
rst thing very clearly outlined was myself feeling over my 
ady trying to determine whether I was all there. Next dis- 
;)very was my saddle and fixtures partly covered with dirt and 
;aves, only a few feet from me, but no horse in sight. So the 
addle was shouldered and a start on foot commenced. After 
erhaps ten minutes' walk a fellow soldier was met leading my 
orse which was also unhurt. Some two hours later Colonel 
dams expressed great surprise at seeing me alive, saying I 
as reported killed soon after the engagement began. It was 
irely strange that neither horse nor rider were injured. 

It was soon after this battle that General Sherman 
lavched a whole army division to Meridian, Mississippi, and 
Lir regiment skirmished with Sherman's advance guard from 
ackson to Meridian, and when Sherman returned we were 

11 



close upon his rear. General Sherman said we were the best 
advance and rear guard that he ever had. 

Some time during the summer of '63, we had quite a scrap 
with General Elliot's River Brigade, composed of several trans- 
ports and two or three small gunboats. This brigade operated 
on and along the Mississippi River. They would send a regi- 
ment out to confiscate cotton, corn or any other useful articles. 
On this occasion they were out as far as "Cole's Crossroads," 
some eight miles from the river. We met them at the Cross- 
roads. I happened to be in charge of our advance guard and 
of course brought on a little fight, in the very start of which 
my horse was shot but not seriously hurt. Later in the action 
I captured a horse, man and excellent outfit, including an excel- 
lent Colt's revolver. Only nine years ago, but forty-six years 
after the occurrence, I met the man in Hastings, Nebraska, 
who was the Union lieutenant in command of the advance 
guard, who told me that one of his men was killed in the begin- 
ning of the "Crossroads" skirmish. This Union lieutenant, like 
myself, became a Baptist minister. He was then living some 
ten miles south of Hastings, Nebraska, where I spent a Sunday 
in his pleasant home. Since then he and his good wife have 
both gone to be with our Lord, which "is far better." 

Mention has been made concerning good health during my 
army life, so it may not be amiss to state that one summer 
during the war typhoid fever came my way. So severe was 
the attack that two doctors pronounced my case hopeless, and 
yet our two surgeons did all for me their meager facilities at 
hand made possible. Being incapable of duty, I was allowed 
to seek more comfortable quarters in a near-by farm house, 
where much kindness and care was received. Yet the fever 
grew rapidly so that I was started to the hospital, some fifty 
miles from where I was, at a place called Enterprise on the 
Mobile and Ohio Railroad. About an hour after starting on 
the train, I was approached by a man I had met in Minnesota 
in 1857 and again in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1861. This 
friend surely came in time of need, succeeded in getting me off 
the train at the first stop, secreted me in the rear of an old. 
warehouse until the train left, then hired a conveyance and*' 
transported me across country to a railroad between Jackson 
and Meridian, Miss. ; put me on a train for Jackson, then disap- 
peared as suddenly and quietly as he had come. In our trip 
across country in a buggy this man (who was at the time called 
a bounty jumper) had invited me to go to his home which was 
then in Yazoo City. This meant another hundred miles by 
railroad and twenty miles by stage. On arriving at Jackson 

12 



late in the afternoon, I managed some way to get to the Missis- 
sippi Central Railroad station and some time in the night ar- 
rived at Vaughn's Station on the Mississippi Central Railroad 
and about 4 p. m. took stage for Yazoo City. 

Owing to my feeble condition, like the impotent man at the 
pool of healing waters, having no one to help me I failed to 
secure an inside seat in the coach and was compelled to ride on 
top among the luggage. When we arrived at Yazoo City and 
I reached the home of my friend, my physical condition was 
such that I fell prostrate upon the porch. The kind lady of 
the house and her mother helped me into the room where I was 
shut in for seven weeks. All this travel of over two hundred 
miles by railroad, buggy and stage coach was very soon after 
two able physicians said I would not live but a few days. There 
happened to be a young doctor there who had just returned 
from temporary army service who was called to see and treat 
me. I told him about what had been said and done and he said, 
"Why do you call me after two eminent doctors turned you out 
to die?" My answer was, "Doctor, I am not ready to die, don't 
want to die, nor don't propose to die if I can help it." He said, 
"I admire your pluck, and it will help us both." 

All the nursing I had during my illness was a daily visit 
from the doctor and a half hour's service twice a day from a 
colored baiber. About three times each day the kind lady of 
the house would come to the door and ask me if I could think 
of anything that I could eat. From seven in the evening until 
seven in the morning, twelve hours, I would see no one. Only 
once during my long siege of typhoid fever did I become delir- 
ious and then only for a short time. It was about midnight 
and when normal conditions returned I was walking across the 
room with a small pistol in each hand. These I promptly re- 
placed on the mantel shelf and returned to my bed. It seemed 
like a dream and I thought a man was trying to enter the 
room through a window. 

A few weeks after leaving my room I returned to the com- 
mand and resumed service. I was not even reprimanded for 
my apparent unsoldierly conduct. 

When the news of President Lincoln' assassination reached 
us we were in Alabama. Colonel Adams had been promoted to 
brigadier general. He called us together and in a very tender 
and informal address conveyed the sad news to his command. 
Among other things, he said, "This is the greatest disaster 
that the South has sustained since the war began." 

We had in our Company K, when we began and when we 
quit, a young man from Wisconsin whose name was and I 

13 



think is, for my impression is, he is yet among the few that are 
still living, B. B. Paddock. He was a clean, moral, brave young 
man. He carried his Bible in the inside breast pocket (which 
was on one occasion the means of saving his life). A bullet 
lodged in the Bible, that protected the region of his heart. 
Paddock was not the slave of immoral or useless habits in 
word or act. It was soon discovered when we came to the time 
and place of "sure enough" war, that he was more than ordi- 
narily efficient in service and was very properly promoted 
finally to first sergeant and was frequently placed in charge 
of scouting squads and invariably made good and so merited 
and secured the confidence of officers and men of the regiment. 
One of what we called "Yankee' gunboats ventured some dis- 
tance up the Yazoo River on a bright Sunday morning. Two 
squadrons of our regiment happened to be in that vicinity 
under command of Colonel "Bob" Woods, who sent young Pad- 
dock with three men to "spy out," not the lay of the land, but 
the lay of the boat which was at the time anchored in the mid- 
dle of the narrow deep river. Paddock's report to Colonel 
Woods was such that the young sergeant was given two piecss 
of field artillery and a dozen cavalrymen and in short time all 
returned safely, having virtually demolished the little gunboat. 
Evidently the officers of the boat were over-confident of their 
safety and possibly asleep. We supposed they made their es- 
cape into the woods. 

Soon after the close of the war Paddock married an exc3l- 
lent young lady whose home was near Lafayette, Mississippi. 
They acted in harmony with Horace Greeley's advise, "went 
west," located in the city of Fort Worth, Texas, and I think are 
living there now. Some fourteen years ago I had some corre- 
spondence with Mr. Paddock and since then Mr. Calvin Green, 
of Lewistown, Pennsylvania, met and transacted some business 
with Mr. Paddock. Mr. Green found him able, popular and 
prosperous. I like to bear testimony to the truth of the old 
adage, "Honesty is the best policy," and that true manh'ood, 
young or old, wins out in the game of life, whether in times 
of war or peace. 

When the news of Lee's surrender reached us we were in 
Alabama and whilst it was not a great surprise, it caused in- 
expressible depression. On May 5, 1865, our company received 
ts parole and in groups of half a dozen and less those who 
had homes to go to quietlv moved off. A fellow soldier whoso 
home was near Natchez, Mississippi, invited me to go with him. 
The invitation was accepted and after a few days I went" to 
visit some families near Port Gibson. To sav the outlook was 
discouraging but feebly expresses the situation. 

14 



Recovery of Captain Houck's Body 

At the outbreak of the Civil War in the beginning of the 
sixties, J. L. Houck was in California. His twin brother, B. 
F. Houck, was a resident of Washington County, Maryland. 
Their youngest brother, E. C. Houck, was in business in Vicks- 
burg, Mississippi. About the beginning of the second year of 
the war, J. L. returned to Huntington county, Pennsylvania, 
where Mother Houck and two of her daughters then lived. 
At about the close of the second year of the war B. F. Houck 
recruited Company H of the First Maryland Cavalry Regiment. 
Not long after he entered the service he was brevetted to the 
office of major. When J. H. returned from California he very 
naturally and very properly first of all visited the dear mother. 
In less than a week after his arrival at Mother's home, he was 
impressed with the idea that he must go on to Virginia and 
see his twin brother. Mother insisted on J. L. remaining with 
her at least a week longer as she was hearing from B. F. fre- 
quently by letter and very recently had heard favorably from 
him. But J. L. said he knew not why, but felt he must go at 
once. On this arrival at Washington, D. C, he applied promptly 
at the office of the proper official for the necessary permis- 
sion to go on to the army to visit his brother. Imagine, if you 
can, his mental and emotional condition when informed that 
Bi^evet Major B. F. Houck had been killed in action two days 
prior to that date (on August 22, 1864, while leading a charge) 
and that the Federal troops had been defeated, leaving that 
section in possession of the Confederates. After very brief 
reflection, J. L. prevailed upon the officer to give him a pass 
as far as the lines of the Federal command. This request was 
reluctantly granted. At the Federal line he had much diffi- 
culty in persuading the officer in command of the pickets to 
allow him to pass on in the direction of the Confederates, but 
after a full statement of the situation he was allowed to pro- 
ceed at his own risk, which he was assured was a great one. 
He did not go very far until he was halted by the Confederate 
picket. He, of course, was taken to the picket officer in com- 
mand, where he was closely examined and where he rehearsed 
fully the cause of his being there and the great desire he had 
to obtain the body of his brother. He was then sent with a 
close guard to the general in command of that department, 
where he underwent another rigid examination and where a 
very clear and pathetic plea was made for permission to make 
an effort to secure his twin brother's body. But the general 
still declined to give the permit. Then J. H. told the general 

15 



that the condition was not an ordinary one, because his 
youngest brother was, and had been from the start, in the 
Confederate army and for that reason he claimed what in 
other circumstances would be an unreasonable and unusual 
privilege. The general said the story was both intresting and 
pathetic and he believed true, and that he would not only grant 
the request, but send a non-commissioned officer and four men 
to assist in securing the body, but also to aid in conveying the 
body to the Federal lines. 

In a short time J. L., with the escort of Confederate sol- 
diers, was off to the locality where the little battle was fought. 
By the aid of some of the citizens the grave and body were 
soon found, the body hastily prepared for removal and con- 
veyed by the aid of the Confederate soldiers to the Federal 
lines, where necessary help was given by the Federal authori- 
ties to convey the body to Washington, D. C, where further 
and better preparation was made and from there the twin 
brothers, one living and the other dead, were conveyed to the 
sadly bereaved mother and sisters at Shirleysburg, Penn. 

In due time the body of the once brave and noble Brevet 
Major, B. F. Houck was taken to the old Trough Creek Cem- 
etery, not far from Cassville, and laid to await the sound, not 
of the war bugle, but of the call of God to those who sleep in 
Jesus and shall have part in the first resurrection. 

Some seven years later the body of the dear, faithful, 
sainted mother was laid beside her soldier son's body. The 
body of the good twin brother, J. L., who virtually risked his 
own life to secure his brother's body, is resting in the soil of 
that comparatively new but historic state of Kansas. In phy- 
sical life and death the twin brothers were and are separated, 
but by the grace of God they were both led into such relation 
to Jesus Christ that they were able to claim the promise that 
whether we wake or sleep we shall live together with the Lord. 



16 



The following sketch is taken from the "History of Colo- 
rado," volume IV, page 616, published by the S. J. Clarke Pub- 
lishing Co., Chicago, and dedicated to the "Pioneers of Colo- 
rado." 

JESSE BARTON LOVELL 

To the public Jesse Barton Lovell is known as a success- 
ful mining and real estate man, conducting business in the 
Arapahoe Building, in Denver. To his friends he is known as 
a most genial and cultured gentleman, widely read, popular in 
club circles, and with a record for amateur hunting and fish- 
ing. Having no recollection whatever of his father, he has 
ever attributed much of his success to the early advice and 
Christian training of his mother, for he was fortunate in his 
early home surroundings. A native of Huntington County, 
Pennsylvania, he is a son of Amon Lovell, who was born in 
Washington County, Maryland, December 19, 1802, and a mem- 
ber of an old Maryland family, believed to have been founded 
in America by three brothers. His ancestral line is traced 
back directly to Zebulon Lovell, who came to the New World 
prior to the Revolutionary War and it is believed that he took 
part in the struggle for American independence. Another of 
the three brothers was the first mayor of Boston, and sym- 
pathizing with the Crown at the outbreak of the Revolutionary 
War, he escaped to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and died there. His 
son, James Lovell, born in 1737, was a graduate of Harvard 
University and was a member of the Continental Congress 
from 1776 to 1782, and held other prominent offices under the 
government, and his son was a prominent soldier in the Revo- 
lutionary War and died in the South. 

The Lovell family has figured prominently in New Eng- 
land and in the South from Colonial days. It was one of the 
members of this family that established the first Latin School 
in Boston. There have been two distinct characteristics in 
the Lovell family, a leaning toward education and a leaning 
toward military life. Representatives of the name have parti- 
cipated in all the principal wars in which the country has been 
involved. Mansfield Lovell, born in 1822, was general in the 
Civil War; graduating at West Point he served in Texas and 
Mexico, and in 1861 entered the Confederate service, and was 
commissioned major general. John Q. Lovell served in the 
Navy and was retired as an admiral. Mr. Lovell of this re- 
view, while too young to have entered the service during the 
Civil War, his older brothers, Albert Galletin and K. Allen, 
left college in 1862, and enlisted in the 122nd Pennsylvania 

17 



Regiment. Two of his uncles, his mother's brothers, were also 
in the Civil War, one an officer in the Confederate service and 
the other Captain of the First Maryland Cavalry, and was 
killed in 1864 while leading his men in a charge near Charles- 
town, West Virginia. Zachariah Lovell, his grandfather, was 
born near Baltimore, Maryland, August 20, 1765, and married 
Ruth Plowman. Their only child was Amon Lovell. The fam- 
ily, shortly after his birth, removed from Maryland to Penn- 
sylvania and there resided, giving attention to the cultivation 
of three hundred acres of a five-hundred-acre farm, while their 
son was being educated and grew into manhood. He was a 
man of fine physique, about six feet in height, and weighed 
nearly two hundred pounds. He was not a very large man but 
a very well proportioned man, broad-shouldered and erect, 
"straight as an Indian," and had great physical strength as 
well as being quick of action. Like all pioneer settlers of Hunt- 
ington County, Pennsylvania, he was a trained rifle-shot. Here 
he married and resided to the time of his death, which occurred 
when he was but forty-eight years of age. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Wealthy Houck, was born in Huntington 
County, Pennsylvania, belonging to one of the old and prom- 
inent families of that State, and was of English lineage. Mr. 
and Mrs. Lovell became the parents of eight children, five 
sons and three daughters. 

Jesse Barton Lovell, the youngest of the family, was edu- 
cated in the public schools of Huntington County, Pennsyl- 
vania, and completed his business education in Eastman's Na- 
tional Business College of Poughkeepsie, New York, while his 
literary course was completed in an academy in Huntington 
County. His early childhood was spent upon Oakdale Farm, 
where all the children were born. After the home farm had 
been sold, he started out to earn his own living, working dur- 
ing the summer and attending school during the winter. His 
first employment was on a farm, where he received his board 
and clothing in compensation for his labor. A neighboring 
farmer, seeing that he was a good, hard-working and honest 
boy, took him away from his first employer and paid him the 
sum of four dollars per month in addition to his board and 
clothing. In this humble way Mr. Lovell started out, but being 
of an ambitious nature he constantly sought opportunities fo"; 
advancement, while each forward step in his career gave him 
a broader view of life. While at college in Poughkeepsie, New 
York, he was offered a position in a publishing house in Phila- 
delphia, This off'er he accepted after his graduation. During 
a continuous service of fourteen years he advanced from the 

18 



position of assistant bookkeeper until he became the business 
manager, but the service had been too exacting, resulting in 
nervous prostration, obKging him to seek a dry cHmate. Broken 
in health, though still optimistic, on the 15th of August, 1881, 
he arrived in Denver, with many letters of introduction to 
prominent people, including U. S. Senator Hill. He was an 
utter stranger here, without friends or relatives, but he pos- 
sessed qualities which would win success anywhere. A mod- 
ern philosopher has said, "Success does not depend upon a 
map, but upon a time-table" ; in other words, locality does not 
figure in the attainment of advancement, but the wise use 
which one makes of every hour, and this fact Mr. Lovell early 
came to realize. He spent his time from August, 1881, until 
January, 1882, the first months after his arrival in Colorado, 
in riding over the plains in quest of health, which he found 
owing to the beneficial influence of the climate of this State, 
He was later requested by the White Quail Mining & Smelting 
Company in Summit County, Colorado, to investigate difficul- 
ties in their management, and after a short period of investi- 
gation and correction of condiitons he was appointed general 
manager for the company, in which position he continued for 
six years, when the property was sold. He then took up min- 
ing on his own account and has since acquired and jointly op- 
erated some valuable mining property. He was at one time 
president of the Broadway Investment Company, a Denver 
corporation, holding a large suburban addition to Denver, but 
which has since been mostly sold. It was this company that 
built the Cherrylin car line, which became so popular and 
widely known because of the horse riding back on the car he 
had drawn to the end of the line, up-grade from Englewood, 
where connection was made with the Denver Tramway cars. 

In his real estate activities he has had large experience 
and the wise direction of his efforts has brought substantial 
results. His personal investments in Denver realty have at all 
times had careful attention and been wisely directed. 

Mr. Lovell holds membership in the Denver Athletic Club 
with which he has been identified for twenty-seven years, or 
since February, 1891. He was president of the Interlachen 
Golf Club, of which he is a life member, and he is a member of 
the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Club, of which he 
was formerly president. He is also a member of the First Bap- 
tist Church. 

In review of his career one sees Jesse B. Lovell starting 
out to provide for his own support, a poor boy working as a 
farm hand. He has made his way through his own efforts, 

19 



guided always by the teachings and principles which his 
mother instilled into him in his youth. Towards her he ever 
manifested the most filial affection and love, realizing how 
much he owed to her training. Opportunity has ever been to 
him a call to action, a call to which he has energetically re- 
sponded. He has found his chief diversion from the cares of 
business in hunting and fishing. He also turns to golf for 
recreation. He has enjoyed various hunting trips, and has 
many beautiful specimens of his skill with rod and gun 
mounted and hanging in his office. 




20 



